Several of the Rider Forms were updated. If you need a copy, you can download the PDF file Here.

Calling all new and veteran volunteers!!! Join us for this Volunteer Workshop at our new facility. (Must be 14 years or older.) We'll have lots of new information as well as a review for our experienced folks. 9 a.m. til noon. Lunch will be served. Rain or shine. If you need directions, click here. Any questions, please call 423.736.3558 Hope to see you!!

Check out the pictures of the new building and fencing! Click here to go to that page. Many hands have been involved in bringing this dream to the area. We are very close to beginning lessons again on a limited basis. Stay tuned!

IT’S REALLY GOING TO HAPPEN! 

Ridin’ High is going to get the program re-started this summer!  We have two upcoming events to tell you about: 
 
Saturday – May 8, 2010 – EVERYONE - Ridin’ High, 5722 Long Creek Road.  This will be an all day work day.  Come for whatever time you can, starting at 8:00 am Saturday morning and ending late afternoon or whenever you have to leave.  Come with lawn tools if you can transport them; bring a tool box if it can be transported.  Please RSVP to Jennie Morris at 423-920-1085 so we know who to expect.  Also, contact Jennie if you’re not sure what equipment to bring. 
 
Tuesday – May 11, 2010 – VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF – Ridin’ High, 5722 Long Creek Road, 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm.  Board members will be there to discuss start-up plans and expect to hear from everyone with their helpful ideas.  This meeting will be an orientation for seasoned volunteers to see the new surroundings.  Again, please RSVP to Jennie.  Once we have some details worked out regarding how many volunteers we have, when people can work, what horses we have, etc., then there will be another meeting for riders and families.  Additionally, there will be a separate meeting/training session for new volunteers at a later date. 
 
Questions on either of these events – please respond to this email or contact Jennie Morris at 423-920-1085. 
 

Board President, Janice Snider, took some pictures of the new property. As you can see, it's beautiful land and will make a great place for the new center!

The Rodeo is the main fundraiser for Ridin' High and it takes the efforts of many volunteers and community members to put on this event. MANY THANKS to all the volunteers and community members and businesses who helped make this happen! To see some highlights of the Rodeo, check out these pictures.

Our main fundraiser is the Championship Rodeo. This year, it will be held just a bit earlier but still at the Great Smoky Mountain Expo Center in White Pine.

October 9th and 10th starting at 7:00 p.m.

If you'd like to volunteer to help or you are a vendor who would like to set up at the Rodeo, please email: info@ridinhigh.org or call and leave a message at (423) 585-0331

If you would like to sponsor an one of the events, you can fill out a Sponsor Sheet found here.

Hope to see everyone there. And thanks for all your support!!

Jennie, Nancy, and Loletta did a wonderful job planning and organizing the picnic. They chose a great spot down by the creek to erect tents and tables. The grilled hot dogs were yummy and everyone brought wonderful side dishes.

Loletta discussed the Rodeo (coming up October 9th and 10th) and asked everyone to help get silent auction items and to sign up to help out at the Rodeo (selling tickets, staffing a table, etc.) We also need sponsors so keep that in mind as you travel about town doing business. (Sponsor sheets will be available soon for download off the website.)

Janice (Board President) announced the "Metal for Metal" program. This is a great opportunity for folks to turn in scrap metal to help build the new riding facility. Take your scrap metal and aluminum cans to MORRISTOWN IRON & METALS located at 2500 Old Hwy 25E in Morristown. When you turn your metal in, be sure to tell them it is for RIDIN' HIGH. They will give you a voucher for the value of the items. You then mail your voucher to Ridin' High at Post Office box 2282, Morristown, TN 37816-2282. Ridin' High will present the vouchers and collect the money to use for building our new riding facility.

After that talkin' ... it was all FOOD AND FUN!!

Thanks everyone and see you soon!

Dear Riders, Rider Families and Friends, Volunteers, Board, and Staff:

YOU ARE INVITED TO A RODEO KICK-OFF PICNIC!

DATE: August 29, 2009
TIME: 6:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Long Creek Property (see Directions page)

The location, Long Creek, is the future site of our program. It is a nice piece of property surrounded by farms and great neighbors. Not much is there yet, but we can celebrate what will be there and enjoy the fellowship of sharing this dream for this program.

It will be a picnic and Ridin' High will furnish the basic food items. We plan to put up a tent for shade and in the event of a possible shower. Also, a port-a-potty will be on the site. We will plan some activities that will be fun and entertaining.

YOU are requested to bring one or two of the following:

Dessert, veggie side dish or chips

We will also need extra chairs, so please bring one if it is convenient.

If you have any questions, please call Nancy Bible at 423-736-3558. Also, if you won't be able to join us, please let Nancy know that as well.

Please come and help us celebrate and help us plan a successful Rodeo - October 9 and 10 at the Great Smoky Mountain Expo Center! We look forward to seeing everyone!

Yours truly,

"The Picnic Committee"
Jennie, Loletta and Nancy

P.S. The rain date is Monday, August 31, same time and place.

March 10, 2009

Dear Riders and Family Members,

We’ve missed each of you and we’re anxious to get back to lessons!

As you know, we purchased property to build our own new facility with a covered arena and classroom and good pasture for our horse pals. We won’t, of course, be able to start up again in April but we are working hard to get that building up and our center functioning so you can get back in the saddle! Our projected date to resume lessons looks more like the end of the summer. We know this is disappointing but we all need to stay focused on the long-term benefits we will see once this new center is completed.

We’ll keep you posted on the progress. (The website www.ridinhigh.org is a good place to check as we keep it updated with any new information we have.)

In the meantime, the staff and volunteers are planning a couple of small events to raise money for some specific items we’ll need at the new place. They will be contacting you soon to let you know how you can join in.

Thank you for your patience and your support.

Hugs to each of you!


The Ridin’ High Staff and Volunteers

You can now use our online option to make a donation, buy a gift certificate, or make a lesson payment! We've signed up with PayPal to make it easier to support your favorite charity ......Ridin' High! If you don't have a PayPal account, you can use your charge card or send an e-check. It's SIMPLE, FAST, SAFE, and CONVENIENT!

2009 promises to be a challenging but very exciting year for Ridin' High!

The building has been ordered. Red with white gutters, chosen by in-house Designer, Founder and Board Member, Nancy Eversole Bible.

The preliminary work for our permits (Site Plan and Environmental Plan) is also underway.

And ......the Capital Campaign will start to roll out at the end of this month!!!

Thank you for being a part of this great program. We'll keep you posted on the progress and our needs. In the meantime, here's wishing each of you a happy and prosperous year!

Join us for this year’s Cowboy-Up Holiday Tour to help raise money for our center. We need your help to make our fund raiser a great success.

If you click on the link below (or paste that link into your browser), you can do all of your holiday shopping for the horse lovers in your life AND our center will earn 20% of each sale! If you prefer to shop in person, give us a call of stop by for a visit.

http://www.thecompletepet.com/

Whether you select a full set of Horse Tales for the Soul books or a full set of audio books, your purchase will not only touch the hearts of their recipients, but you will be changing the lives of the horses and people at our facility for a lifetime. That is one holiday gift that keeps on giving!

Read More on the Holiday Gift page.

We are coming to the time of year when thoughts turn to buying gifts and helping others. Though the economy might tighten pursestrings, I don't believe it ever tightens heartstrings. So, if the upcoming Season has you thinking that maybe our riders will be even harder hit by these times and you'd like help, here are some ideas:

• GoodSearch for Ridin' High --- Use the GoodSearch search engine while surfing the 'net. Each time you use them for a search, Ridin' High receives a small donation. AND ...many money-saving offers are provided on their GoodShop.com page -- some with coupons for savings of 15% to 30%.
• Make a donation to our Rider Scholarship Fund. As you can imagine, many of our families are faced with ongoing medical bills and even our nominal fees impact their financial situation. Though a full scholarship is $400 for the year, any amount is helpful to supplement their lesson fees.
• Take a look at the Wish List on the You Can Help page. This is a long list of a variety of items the staff and volunteers have identified as needs. The costs vary so there is likely something that will fit your budget.
• Commit to telling FIVE people about Ridin' High. It is amazing how many people in our community are still unaware of our program and what we do. So ... help get the word out!

Thank you for keeping us in your hearts!

The papers are signed and we are working our way through the various pieces and parts of this exciting new adventure! To make this all the more "REAL" ... Ridin' High has moved out of the Springvale location. All our program items are stored and the horses are in foster homes for the Winter.

This is a big project and a big step forward for our riders! We have so many new ideas and projects we'd like to offer our riders. We are thrilled that these will now be an option with a covered arena and the additional work space we plan. We hope you are as excited about this as we are and will help out when we coming knocking on your mailbox. (grin)

We'll keep you posted on the progress!

Hope to see you at the Rider/Family Holiday Party on December 11th.

And ..............THANK YOU. We are so very grateful to our riders, our families, the volunteers, and all the wonderful community members who understand what a difference this program makes in the quality of life for our riders.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

By now, you may have heard the very exciting BIG NEWS that the Board of Directors approved the purchase of property for Ridin’ High. This is not a “done deal” but we are making progress! A contract has been signed with the owners, Alvy and Chuck Couch of “Couch Painting”. They have been VERY generous to Ridin’ High with their pricing and negotiations so do feel free to pass along your good thoughts about them!

The next step is to finalize the financing with Jefferson Federal. We have a Board Meeting on September 25th to approve certain documentation and then we will submit a proposal for construction costs to the bank. They expect we could complete the closing within 2 to 4 weeks of that submission and approval.

The land is located on Long Creek Rd., which is not far from our current location. It is approximately 2 miles of 25E – turn onto Old White Pine Rd., close to the Fire Station. It is 15.67 acres of land with no structures. There is a creek at the bottom of the property and we have easy access to electricity and city water.

The property search has been a long and detailed process and we are, frankly, only at the beginning of the bigger project. There are many, many details to consider in designing the facility and, of course, the biggie …….how to pay for all this.

Ridin’ High has put aside a sum of money that will help with the initial costs but we will be doing a “capital campaign” to pay for the land and construction of the new facility. We are planning for an open covered arena (perhaps to eventually enclose), office space, an educational and meeting area, along with the usual barn needs (tack room, feed room, and some stalls).

At this time, we do not anticipate that any of this will affect lessons in any way. We do have LOTS of plans for good things to add to our current services. If all goes well, we hope to be at the new location for the 2009 sessions.

As plans are firmed up, we will let you know how you can help.

In the meantime, we hope you will celebrate these small steps with us and keep good thoughts for the continuation of a smooth transition.

Thank you for your support!

Best regards from … The Ridin’ High Board of Directors and Staff

Saturday, August 16th from 1:45 until 3:45. We'd love you to join us after the class for our Rider Summer Get-Together. We'll have a cookout and then the riders will demonstrate skills they've learning or are working on during their lessons. Family attends and its a very special time for our riders! Call ahead to reserve your spot in the class! You can also download an application here and mail it to us with a note to sign up for this class.

Saturday, August 16th ---------- Join us for a fun family cookout! We'll eat at 4:00 and then our riders will demonstrate their riding skills. Ridin' High is providing the grilled hot dogs and condiments and families will bring sides and desserts. Sign up at the barn. Volunteers and families, Board members .......... please join us for this special event. Our riders love this opportunity for their own special "show". RSVP by August 10th.

Thursday, July 31 at 4 p.m. Volunteers who would like to lead horses during lessons will begin learning the horsemanship skills we use for handling our therapy horses. Leaders have additional responsibilities to assist Instructors for tacking and un-tacking horses during lessons. Leaders must have been volunteering as a sidewalker for at least one rider session period prior to being permitted to leading.

Saturday, May 31st --9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. -- Rain or shine. Please fill out at Volunteer Application and mail it in so we can reserve a spot for you. We especially need sidewalkers for our afternoon classess (Tues and Thurs).

Saturday, May 10th at 10 a.m. -- Our Equine Specialist, Lauren Gruber, will give a brief overview of barefoot horse trimming and hoof care. Beth Meek, our Program Coordinator, will then review the horsemanship philosophies and procedures we use at Ridin' High. She will demonstrate and instruct at the round pen. Any volunteers interested in schooling/exercising our horses should plan to attend this meeting so they can be eligible to work with our horses on a regular basis. Riding experience is required.

April 26th -- New Volunteers Training and Orientaion Class -- 9:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Rain or shine. Fill out an application and send it in to reserve your spot.
April 26th -- Leader In-Service -- 11:00 a.m.

CAN YOU HELP?
** FEEDING HORSES: We need someone to help feed on any or all of these days: Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday
** LESSONS: We need additonal volunteer help for lessons on Monday mornings (for the next 3 weeks or longer) and Monday and Thursday afternoons (complete session -- April - June)

Leader Training -- current volunteers who have been working as side walkers and would like to begin leading horses during lessons should choose one of the following dates to attend a training class:
March 15 at 10 a.m.
March 24 at either 10 a.m. or 4 p.m.

Barn Clean-Up and Farm Maintenance Day -- help us get ready for lessons (which start on April 7th)
April 5 - starting at 9 a.m.

Instructor and Staff In-Service and Meeting -- schedule updates, NARHA information, horse assignments
March 22 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Leader In-Service -- those who have been through training class need to attend
April 26 at 11 a.m.

Thanks for your help!
Please email info@ridinhigh.org which dates you will attend.

We are currently accepting new applications for riders. Please contact our Program Coordinator to discuss the rider's need and any openings we have in the upcoming schedule.

Next Volunteer Training Class is Saturday, March 29th. Fill out an application and send it in to reserve your spot.

Lessons Begin April 7th
By now, all current riders should have received their paperwork for the coming session. Please complete the forms and return them as soon as possible. We have been contacting people on our Waiting List and preparing the upcoming lesson schedule. We wouldn't want you to lose your spot on the rider roster!